Victim's family wants justice

Saturday

Jun 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Though they live more than 200 miles away in Bakersfield, Abdal Awnallah and other family members will be making regular trips to Stockton for the foreseeable future. They will do so, Awnallah says, to see that justice is served for Abdal's older brother, Majad Ali Awnallah.

Roger Phillips

STOCKTON - Though they live more than 200 miles away in Bakersfield, Abdal Awnallah and other family members will be making regular trips to Stockton for the foreseeable future. They will do so, Awnallah says, to see that justice is served for Abdal's older brother, Majad Ali Awnallah.

The popular shopkeeper known as "Omar" to customers was shot to death last year at Paisano's Market, one of several small stores the family operated in Stockton.

Abdal Awnallah, 34, spoke following Friday's arraignment of two suspects arrested within the past couple of weeks. The 37-year-old victim's wife and children, who range in age from 1 to 16, did not attend Friday's brief hearing in San Joaquin County Superior Court.

"We want to make sure (the suspects) get prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Abdal Awnallah said. "They orphaned five kids."

Judge Franklin M. Stephenson set bail Friday at $1.5 million for Sergio Alvarez Gonzalez, 20, who was arrested this week in connection with the killing Nov. 17. Gonzalez and the alleged gunman, 21-year-old Richard Alcaraz, will have their next court appearance June 13. Alcaraz is being held on $3.1 million bail.

Both suspects are at the San Joaquin County Jail, and authorities continue their hunt for one or more additional suspects they believe were in the getaway car on the night of the crime, Deputy District Attorney Mark Dennings said. Dennings said the suspects were gang members.

The four Awnallah brothers all graduated from Tokay High School, Abdal Awnallah said. They had been living in Bakersfield since the 1990s, but Majad had been back in the Stockton area for the five months before his death operating Paisano's. He would see his wife and children, who remained behind in Bakersfield, whenever it was possible, Abdal Awnallah said.

Abdal Awnallah said the family is getting rid of all its markets in the aftermath of the crime. He praised detectives who cracked the case and said the family intends to see the legal process through to its conclusion.

"We're law-abiding citizens," Abdal Awnallah said. "It's not going to bring him back but it's closure. It's not like my brother went looking for trouble. They came for him. He didn't even have a speeding ticket."